Re usable handle bag

ABSTRACT

The re-usable handle bag has both a closure flap and a tapered handle flap extending from opposed sides of the mouth of the bag. A handle is attached to the handle flap and can be inserted through a receiving aperture in the closure flap to close the bag and leave the grip portion of a handle exposed for convenient carrying.

United States Patent H 1 1111 3,722,785

Rivman 1 Mar. 27, 1973 s41 RE-USABLE HANDLE BAG 3,429,497 2/1969 Dorfman..229 54 R 3,429,498 2/1969 Dorfman t ..229 54 R [75] Inventor gTg' 'g':oseph 3,549,085 12/1970 Hart ..229/54 R 3,525,468 8/1970 Kamins et al...229/54 R [73] Assignee: W. R. Grace 8: Co., Duncan, SC.

- Primary Examiner-Davis T. Moorhead 22 Fl d: t. 21 1971 J l e 00Atromey.lohn .l. Toney et al. [21] Appl. No.: 191,308

[57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. ..2Z9/$4 R, ISO/l2 The [bumble handle bag h ha d fl d a [Sl] Int. Cl ..B6Sd 33/06, 865d 33/]6 tapered hame flapextending from Opposed sides of [58] Field of Search ..229/5Z A, 54, 55,62, 68;

the mouth of the bag. A handle is attached to the han- 190/43; 150/12dle flap and can be inserted through a receiving aperture in the closureflap to close the bag and leave the [56] References Cited grip portionof a handle exposed for convenient carry- UNITED STATES PATENTSl,866,24l 7/1932 Vineberg ..229/54 R UX 7 Claims, 5 Drawing FiguresPATENIEUmzma SHEET 10F 3 FIG.

FIG.

INVENTOR SAMUEL J. mvmw m... 9.

ATTORNEY RE-USABLE HANDLE BAG FIELD OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates to handle or carrier bags which are commonly referred to asshopping bags. In particular, this invention relates to carrierv bags inwhich the bag portion is made of flexible, film-like material, and thehandle is made of a relatively rigid material.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Many bags with handles are known in theprior art and all have certain advantages and disadvantages. The presentinvention represents an improvement over the type of bags disclosed inUS. Pat. No. 3,429,498 issued to J. J. Dorfman on Feb. 25, I969 and US.Pat. No. 3,525,468 issued to Seymour Kamins on Aug. 25, I970. A thirdpatent of interest is US. Pat. No. 3,549,085 issued to Robert L. Hart onDec. 22, I970.

Both the Dorfman and the Kamins patents shown carrier bags with handlesattached thereto. In the Dorfman patent the handle is attached to theonly flap provided on the bag and this flap in turn acts as a closurefor the bags mouth. This is unsatisfactory as the weight of the contentsof the bag will be supported only by the single flap leaving animbalance which can lead to premature failure of the bag. Accordingly,it is one object of the present invention to provide a handle bagconstruction wherein the load carried by a filled bag is evenlydistributed to opposed sides of the bag.

In the Kamins patent, the handle is attached to the interior surface ofone side of the bag's mouth and a flap having an apperture formedtherein extends from the other side of the bag's mouth and a portion ofthe handle will pass through the aperture in order to close the bag.However, by attaching the handle directly to and within the perimeter ofthe bags mouth, it becomes difficult to insert the handle grip throughthe aperture, particularly when the bag is filled. This difficulty iseven more pronounced if the grip portion of the handle is of a dimensionto be conveniently manually handled. Accordingly, it is another objectof the present invention to provide a handle bag which is readily andsecurely closable and has, at the same time, a grip of convenient sizefor comfortable carrying by hand.

These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparentto those skilled in the art from the following description of theinvention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In its broadest aspect, the present inventionis a reusable handle bag which will lie flat when it is empty and whichcomprises bag or pouch means and handle means. The bag or pouch has amouth from a portion of whose periphery a closure flap extends, and,from the opposed side of the mouth of the bag, a tapered handle flapextends. A handle is affixed to the handle flap and is positioned sothat it can pass through a receiving aperture which has been provided inthe closure flap and thereby close the bag.

In a more limited aspect, the present invention is a handle bag whereinthe width of the closure flap is approximately one-half the perimeter ofthe bag mouth, and the width of the handle flap is less than theremaining one-half of the perimeter of the bag mouth. The

closure flap is folded over and sealed to itself along its side edgesand the receiving aperture is located in the fold line of the closureflap. The handle comprises a connecting bar which is attached to thehandle flap and a grip portion which is adapted to extend through thereceiving aperture. A shoulder is associated with the connecting bar,but the shoulder does not extend through the aperture. The shoulder actsas a load bearing surface and receives that portion of the load of afilled bag which is carried by and transmitted through the closure flap.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings in which apreferred embodiment of the present invention is shown:

FIG. I is a front view of the handle bag of the present inventionshowing the bag in its closed condition;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along section lines 2 2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the bag as shown in FIG. I but with the handleflap of the bag folded down so that the bag is in its open condition;

FIG. 4 is a view of the preferred handle for the ban dle bag of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 5 is a view taken along section line 5 5 of FIG. 4.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. I the preferred embodiment of the handlebag I of the present invention is shown in its closed condition. Handlebag 1 comprises bag or pouch means 2 and handle means he made by foldinga sheet of filmlike material and 3. The bag means 2 can be it along itssides leaving the opposed edges open to form a mouth.

FIG. 2 is a view along section line 2 2 of FIG. 1 and shows in detailthe construction of the handle bag of the subject invention. In thisview, bag means 2 comprises front wall 7 and back wall 8. Front wall7con tinues upwardly past the bag mouth, which is not distinguishable inthis view, and an extension of front wall 7 becomes handle flap 13. Theconnecting bar portion 4 of handle 3 is attached to handle flap 13. Whenthe bag and the handle are made of the same or similar thermoplasticmaterial, this attachment of the handle connecting bar 4 to the flap 13can be accomplished by heat sealing.

The back wall 8 of the bag 2 as shown in FIG. 2 continues upwardly pastthe bag mouth, which, as stated above, can not be distinguished in thisfigure, and forms closure flap 6. As can be seen, closure flap 6 has anaperture through which the handle 3 extends and the closure flapcompletely covers the bag opening or mouth. The bag material formingclosure flap 6 is doubled back upon itself for added strength and, in apreferred embodiment, reinforcing insert 10 is placed between the foldsof closure flap 6 as shown.

Turning now to FIG. 3, the handle bag of the present invention is shownin its open condition with handle flap l3 folded downwardly from bagmouth 14. In this view, the sloping or tapered sides 11 of the handleflap [3 are clearly shown and the end of the flap 13 with its straightcut edge 12 to which connecting bar 4 of handle 3 is attached can befully appreciated. Closure flap 6, in the preferred embodiment, has itsside 24 sealed to themselves at the edges of the bag. This provides forpositive and complete closing of the bag. To close the bag from the opencondition shown in FIG. 3, the handle 3 is rotated upwardly, closureflap 6 is lifted, and the grip portion 23 of the handle means 3 isinserted through receiving apertures 9. Receiving aperture 9 isapproximately the same width as the widest portion of grip means 23.When the grip means 23 has been in serted through receiving aperture 9,the shoulder 22 of handle means 3 comes to rest on the interior part ofthe closure flap 6 beneath fold line 25. When this closing operation iscompleted, the bag will then have the appearance as shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show in greater detail the structure of handle means 3.Handle means 3 comprises basically grip means 23 and connecting bar 4.Connecting bar 4 has shoulders 22 formed on its upper side which areflared or flange-like projections to provide a broader load bearingsurface for connecting bar 4. Filler strip 27 connects connecting bar 4to the grip portion 23. A flared edge 21 is provided around the interiorperiphery of grip 23 and this flared edge has a flangelike constructionand provides a broad area to distribute the load of the filled handlebag to the hand of the person carrying the bag. At two points within theinner perimeter of grip 23 the flared edge 21 departs from beingcompletely coincident with the perimeter of the grip 23 and formsnotches leaving grip edges 26 exposed. The flared edge 21 forms a secondpurpose in that it directs the edges of the receiving aperture 9 ofclosure flap 6 outwardly and down below notches 20 to form a positiveand secure lock of the closure flap onto handle means 3.

FIG. 5 is a view of FIG. 4 taken along section lines 5 5 and shows ingreater detail the structure of flared edge 21, the exposed interiorgrip edge 26, the filler strip 27, and the connecting bar 4.

Returning now to FIG. 3, the tapered or sloping edges 11 of handle flap13 are preferably cut at about a 45 angle to the vertical. This providesfor ease of insertion of handle flap 13 under closure flap 6 as handleflap 13 is rotated at bag mouth 14. Of course, depending upon thedesired width of a particular handle bag and the desired width of theshoulders 22 of the grip means 3, the sloping or tapered edges 11 can bemade to vary in angularity. The closure of the bag is made relativelyeasy as closure flap 6 can be rotated backwardly away from the handleflap 13 so that the grip means 23 can be quickly inserted into receivingaperture 9. This flexibility and ease in closing is a distinct advantageof the present handle bag over those of the prior art.

In FIG. 2, it is clearly seen how the load of a filled bag is evenlydistributed. Front wall 7 will transmit approximately half the load of afilled bag through closure flap 13 to connecting bar 4 and hence tohandle means 3. Likewise, back wall 8 transmits its half of the loadthrough closure flap 6 which rest upon shoulder 22 and thence to handlemeans 3.

Many flexible, film-like materials are suitable for making the bag orpouch portion of the subject invention. The most common materials wouldbe those that are classified as either paper, plastic, or cloth. The

preferred material is a thermoplastic such as polyethylene in athickness ranging between 2 and 4 mils. Preferred widths of the bag rane from approximately l5 Inches to approximately 2 inches and the lengthor height of the bag can range from l2 inches to 18 inches. Within thesedimensional ranges, a typical receiving aperture would be a slit rangingfrom about 3 to 8 inches with a preferred width being about 5 inches.

The handle means can also be constructed of various materials such aspaper or fiber board, plastic, metal, or wood. A preferred material is athermoplastic such as polyethylene. The total width of a handle meansincluding the shoulders can preferably vary between 8 and t2 inches andthe total height of a handle can be about 3 to 7 inches with thepreferred height being about 5 inches.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

1. A handle bag comprising:

a. a bag having a mouth, said bag being adapted to lie flat when emptyand being constructed from flexible, film-like material;

. a closure flap extending from a portion of the periphery of said bagmouth, said closure flap being folded over and sealed to itself alongits side edges to form a fold, and said closure flap having a receivingaperture located in its fold-line;

. a handle flap extending from a portion of said bag mouth opposed tosaid closure flap, the sides of said handle flap being tapered wherebythe width of the handle flap is reduced as the handle flap extends awayfrom said bag mouth; and,

. a handle attached to said handle flap, at least a portion of saidhandle being adapted to pass into said fold and through said receivingaperture whereby said handle flap and said closure flap cover the mouthof said bag.

2. The handle bag of claim 1 wherein the width of said closure flap isapproximately one-half the perimeter of said bag mouth and the width ofthe handle flap is less than the remaining one-half of the perimeter ofsaid bag mouth.

3. The handle bag of claim 1 wherein the handle comprises:

i. a connecting bar which is attached to said handle ii. a grip portionwhich is adapted to extend'through said receiving aperture.

4. The handle bag of claim 3 wherein the handle includes a shoulderassociated with said connecting bar, said shoulder and said connectingbar being wider than said receiving aperture.

5. The handle bag of claim 1 wherein the sides ofsaid handle flap aretapered at approximately 45 angles from the vertical.

6. The handle bag of claim 5 wherein the connecting bar and shoulder aresubstantially the same width as the handle flap at the point at whichsaid connecting bar is attached to said handle flap.

7. The handle bag of claim 6 wherein a reinforcing insert extending thewidth of the closure flap is associated with said receiving aperture.

* i t i i

1. A handle bag comprising: a. a bag having a mouth, said bag beingadapted to lie flat when empty and being constructed from flexible,film-like material; b. a closure flap extending from a portion of theperiphery of said bag mouth, said closure flap being folded over andsealed to itself along its side edges to form a fold, and said closureflap having a receiving aperture located in its fold-line; c. a handleflap extending from a portion of said bag mouth opposed to said Closureflap, the sides of said handle flap being tapered whereby the width ofthe handle flap is reduced as the handle flap extends away from said bagmouth; and, d. a handle attached to said handle flap, at least a portionof said handle being adapted to pass into said fold and through saidreceiving aperture whereby said handle flap and said closure flap coverthe mouth of said bag.
 2. The handle bag of claim 1 wherein the width ofsaid closure flap is approximately one-half the perimeter of said bagmouth and the width of the handle flap is less than the remainingone-half of the perimeter of said bag mouth.
 3. The handle bag of claim1 wherein the handle comprises: i. a connecting bar which is attached tosaid handle flap; and, ii. a grip portion which is adapted to extendthrough said receiving aperture.
 4. The handle bag of claim 3 whereinthe handle includes a shoulder associated with said connecting bar, saidshoulder and said connecting bar being wider than said receivingaperture.
 5. The handle bag of claim 1 wherein the sides of said handleflap are tapered at approximately 45* angles from the vertical.
 6. Thehandle bag of claim 5 wherein the connecting bar and shoulder aresubstantially the same width as the handle flap at the point at whichsaid connecting bar is attached to said handle flap.
 7. The handle bagof claim 6 wherein a reinforcing insert extending the width of theclosure flap is associated with said receiving aperture.